Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spatzimaus" data-source="post: 908403" data-attributes="member: 3051">Those aren't bad tweaks.  I'm one of those people who thinks it needs to be changed, but everyone's got there own opinions on how.Since this IS the House Rules forum, here's the stopgap rule we came up with.  Basically, it requires the target to be a form you're familiar with, in the same sense that Teleport has to be to a place you're familiar with.  In fact, we just copied Teleport's table and changed what each thing means.Note: this is based on pre-errata spells, so Polymorph Self still allows changing through multiple forms.  The rules for Self and Other are very similar, so I'll just append notes as PS or PO as appropriate.So, for familiarity:"Very Familiar" is a creature you're around on a daily basis, or that's standing in front of you when you cast the spell."Studied Carefully" is something you've spent a good amount of time around (maybe you grew up on a dairy farm and want to turn into a cow), or that you've spent a good amount of time researching."Seen Casually", "Viewed Once", and "Description" are pretty self-explanatory.  "False Destination" means you tried to change into something that never existed, like a mythical creature.The idea is, if you roll anything other than On Target, you end up in a flawed or inferior form.On Target: you get the form you wanted.  For PS, if you decide to change forms again you have to roll again.Off Target: You turn into a closely-related form, sharing most of the target's characteristics (size, type, ability to use equipment) but a CR of 1d3 less.  Instead of a Stone Giant you ended up as a Hill Giant.For PS, you can't change forms any more but you can still dismiss back to your original form.Similar Area: You turn into a similar form, sharing most of the characteristics but a CR of 1d6 less.  Instead of a Stone Giant you end up as an advanced Ogre.For PS, again you can no longer shift forms but can still dismiss back to the original.Mishap: You end up as a totally unrelated form with a CR of 2d6 less.  Any relationship to the original will be coincidental, although a sadistic DM will pick something that is the exact opposite of what you wanted and that has a similar name ("Grick" instead of "Grig"?).  The new form will never be one that can use equipment, and will usually be a Plant, Ooze, Vermin, or Abberation.  Instead of a Stone Giant, you're a Gelatinous Cube.For PS, you also lose the ability to dismiss the effect, so you're stuck in this new form until the duration expires or someone dispels you.(Even a sadistic DM shouldn't pick something that can't survive at all in the environment, like a fish)All of this was written from the point of view of PS, where you want a strong form.  For Polymorph Other it's the reverse, so you ADD CRs and get more useful forms.  A Mishap turns you into something that CAN use equipment.  And, it's only permanent if you get it right.  So, go like this, if you were aiming for a Squirrel:Off Target: add 1d3 CR (say, an Advanced Squirrel) and it expires in 1 hour per level.Similar Area: add 1d6 CR (an Advanced Dire Squirrel) and it expires in 1 minute per level.Mishap: add 2d6 CR (a Hill Giant) and it expires in 1 round per level.This assumes you were trying for something weak.  If you're buffing a friend with PO and screw up, subtract CRs like you would for PS, but keep the duration reduction of PO.  It's the DM's call which way to go, of course, but it should be obvious whether the person is trying for a harmful or beneficial effect.Anyway, the idea is to make it unpredictable enough that people have second thoughts about always turning into a new form.</blockquote>

Verification